Elder Carey E. Pointer III

2010 Ministry Assessment

In 2010 I can honestly say I feel I have not been the man or Minister that God has called me to be.  As I reviewed the first three chapters of “What the Bible Says to the Minister” I have found several areas in which I fall short of this call.  The hardest hitting chapter for me has been chapter 3.  To me it feels as though I have lost focus of what my purpose of the ministry is supposed to be.

Mentoring others and teaching them about Christ is and should be the single most important thing in Ministry.  My Witness has not been bold enough or strong enough to affect anything.  I have allowed circumstances of life to shift my focus to other things.  Even before preaching, my mind would often shift to “what will I do with this money?”  I would even go to outside engagements with one of my main thoughts being “How much will I get”.  This shift in focus has caused me to abandon consistent study and prayer time.  Many times in 2010 I re-preached sermons not because I felt led by God, but because I had not taken the time to listen to Him for anything else.  The “Saturday Night Special” was used several times this year.

Do I know God?  Do I believe Him? Do I understand Him? Have I been faithful?  These are questions I have asked myself as I looked over myself this year.  Though my mouth has always said yes, my actions have too many times said no!

Do I know Him?  Not the way I have acted in my home and sometimes in public. 

Do I believe Him?  Only when it is convenient or if I am trying to show off.

Have I been faithful?  Not in my ministry, teaching, preaching, or in pursuit of what He has called me to do specifically the pursuit of a full time Pastorate.

What are the answers? I don’t know.  I have prayed and thought and God has given me some goals and things to pursue in order to get back where he would have me to be.

    Let me say it this way,  I see many blogs who teach me that the church doesn’t have their eschatology correct, or their ecclesiology correct, or even their Christology correct.  But if all these thing seem to be wrong then what is right.  Is their any scripture that the Church as a whole is getting right or is it all correction all the time?

   To me something has to be going right so I am attempting to come up with three things that the Church as a whole is getting right.  No one may agree with me but then again, no one will probably read this anyway.

1.  Christ is preached/taught/ shared. – I have yet to find anyone claiming to be a Christian who flat out denies the birth, life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Ask just about any Christian if he/she believes this and your answer will most likely be yes.

2.  Dependency on Christ is preached/taught/shared. – I have yet to see a group calling themselves Christian who claims they can do anything without Christ.  Whatever things they claim to do they claim to do in His Name and for His glory.  We sometimes disagree on what those things should be but that isn’t the point of this post.

3.  Getting to know Christ is encouraged. - No gathering I know of will discourage you from getting to know Christ or know more about him.  However the method is to reach the goal the goal is to tell as many people as possible about His saving grace.

I may be naive but I think that the Church is getting something right, otherwise were did all of us Bible believing Christians come from if God did not use His Church?  What do you think?

One of my favorites right now.

It’s like I’m tired of life/ Lord i’m wrong why I cant get right/ And when it’s dark why I cant get light/ eh why it cant be light it’s so heavy why my sin won’t let me see the end/ come get me/ please come get me/ my thoughts my mind/ my ways all evil/ I’m sposed to be your people I’m sposed to see your sequal/ I said I’ll never leave you/ But I’m so left i aint right Lord I’m sleeping with death/man, I am cheating with death/ am I deaf Its like I don’t hear you/ I say that I’m a Christian but it’s like I don’t fear you/ I’m on a selfish island and i am no where near you/ God i really need you even tho I don’t appear to/ I’m drinking out a broken cistern that could never hold water and I’m gonna get burned/ tho I try i never satisfy or quench this yearn/ I hear you calling but it’s like a fight for me to just turn/Lord I deserve to burn

Hook: Repeat 2x
Help me Lord before there’s no time left
I ain’t living I’m just breathing to death (echo)
Your ways are perfect and they lead me to rest
Mine are evil and they lead me to death

I’m fellin’ skitzophrenic / maybe I ain’t saved cause i gotta get high just to block out all the pain/ seen death, seen hurt seen a whole lotta thangs/ instead of running from it I’m running away from change/ it’s like I’m outside in the ice cold weather/the rains coming down and I keep getting wetter/ I know I’m getting sick and I could die any second/ but still I refuse to let your truths make me better/ I’d rather eat flies and maggots instead of bread/ and its killing me slow but i cant get it through my head/ you were stabbed you were murdered/ and for me is why you bled/ but I spit on your bloody face as If i never cared/ And Lord how dare i compare my pain/ your father turned his back/ and you were left to hang/ I don’t know why you did it that I cant explain/ how can you love this sinner whose desecrated your name/Lord I deserve the flames

Hook: 2x

I know I tell lies/ I know I do dirt/ Apart from you I’m nothing but you can give me worth/ I don’t know if I know you/ But still I know I should/ I know the days are evil and only you are Good/ I’ve come to this conclusion I would like to change cause all the worlds money and fame cannot sustain/ I know that i should turn but thats the hardest thang/ cause do I really feel that havin’ Jesus is my gain/ the world is so tempting/ Satan is a beast/ he hypnotizes my eyes to say the least/ But Jesus be my treasure to know you is live/ and I am here dying trying everything there is/ All I need here is you/ help me turn away from sin/ Lord give me grace to turn away and the fear not to give in/ I know that I’m not perfect but if I could rest in Him/ I know i don’t deserve it but still I’ll take your hand/Lord let me take your hand

…your Theology was put under a microscope every time you spoke?

…everything you did was reported on by the media?

…you were really good at something and because you were really good at it people put you on a pedestal only waiting for a chance to knock you down?

…people ignored any good you said or did because they were too busy talking about the one thing you said/did they didn’t agree with?

…every past mistake in your life was news worthy?

Would your witness stand the test?

Would you hold up under the spotlight?

Or would you need some grace, some mercy and some more time to get things right?

Consider this…(emphasis mine)

What if?

Be Blessed!

Carey

One of my favorites.  Enjoy

How wide is Your love
That You would stretch Your arms
And go around the world
And why for me would a Savior’s cry be heard

I don’t know
Why You went where I was meant to go
I don’t know
Why You love me so

Those were my nails
That was my crown
That pierced Your hands and Your brow
Those were my thorns
Those were my scorns
Those were my tears that fell down
And just as You said it would be
You did it all for me
After You counted the cost
You took my shame, my blame
On my cross

How deep is Your grace
That you could see my need
And chose to take my place
And then for me, these words I’d hear You say

Father no
Forgive them for they know not what they do
I will go
Because I love them so

Mark 8:22-26

   One of my favorite types of movies is a suspense thriller. I like these movies because they cause me to think outside of the box. I like to be led into thinking one thing will happen only to have the filmmakers pull out an unexpected twist or turn to surprise me and/or lead me in another direction. In these films such as “The Usual Suspects” and “Along Came a Spider” how they get to the end is almost as if not more interesting then the conclusion itself. I like these movies so much that I have began to look for the twist. I find myself paying more attention looking for that which may be unexpected. I expected to be tricked, I expect to be misled in these movies, I expect the unexpected. Even more then the movies I love to see God move in the same way. Just when I think I know what He is doing and how He is moving in my life He does something unexpected. He moves in a way I wasn’t looking for. I often find myself in a place I did not expect in Him and how I got there has taught me more than if I would have gone the “expected” way. It has happened so often that when things don’t go the way I want or how I think they should just like with the movies I have begun to look for the twist. I have begun to expect the unexpected. As we look at our text today I can see how the expectations of man and God’s way of handling the situation may have come in conflict. In fact there are several things in this passage that man would not expect but which Jesus did which led to the healing of this blind man. Some of these expectations where held by the blind man and I am also certain that there were some by the “they” mentioned in verse 22.

   We never find out the reason they bought the man to Jesus. It is possible that they were sincere in wanting to see him healed. It is also possible they needed a reason to believe in this Jesus that they had heard about. Finally it is possible that they just wanted to see a show or be entertained. In the end it doesn’t matter why they took him to Jesus but the fact of the matter is he got there and that’s good news for somebody is that it doesn’t matter how you got here but the fact that you got to Jesus, that you are in His presence right here right now. Once the man gets to Jesus, Jesus begins His string of unexpected acts.

   First there is an Unexpected Move. The first thing Jesus does is to take the man out of the town. This is unexpected because the people wanted to see if the man would be healed. There were several other instances in the Bible where Jesus does the healing on the spot but He chose to move this man. Why? I believe Bethsaida represented a comfort zone for the man. We will see later that he wasn’t from Bethsaida but clearly he was there every day and had possibly become dependent on that area to beg and support himself and sometimes Jesus has to take us out of our comfort zone and away from those we are comfortable with before He can deal with us. The Bible says that Jesus took the man’s hand and led Him out but it doesn’t say the man resisted. Too many of us when God does something to move us we want to fight back but when God does the leading there is nothing to be afraid of.

   After the Unexpected Move Jesus has the man alone and then takes an Unexpected Approach. He spits in the man’s face. There is no culture and no time where spitting in someone’s face has ever been a compliment. It has always been considered an insult and so can you imagine this man who can’t see anything and Jesus has led him to some remote area and the first thing he feels is spit in his face. But God used what man considered an insult as a part of His healing process and my question to you is what is He using in your life that you are feeling insulted by. Is it the job you work, the place you live, the car you don’t drive. What do you have in your life that you think is insulting that God is trying to use? God uses this insult but then He follows it with a touch. Some of us are so distracted by the insult that we miss the fact that God is getting ready to touch us.

   Then another strange thing happens. Following the Unexpected Move and the Unexpected Approach then comes an Unexpected Result. One would think that when God puts His hands on a situation it becomes completely fixed right away. But in this case it didn’t. After being asked if he can see the man looked up which in the original Greek means to regain sight. But he says that he can only see men walking around as trees. In other words the healing was only partial at this point. But I want to submit that this touch was not intended to completely heal because if it were, it would have. So what was the purpose? I’m glad you asked. It was intended to make clear the NEED for Jesus even after the first touch. See if God completely fixed us in one swoop many of us would not return to Him. Many of us wouldn’t even give Him full credit but not being completely healed the man had to wait around and figure out what it was Jesus wanted to do. I came to tell someone that you need God. And the reason you have don’t have any peace in your life is because you haven’t realized that you need Him more than He could ever need you.

   We talked about the Unexpected Move and God’s Unexpected Approach and we have seen the Unexpected Result but then following that there is an Unexpected Touch. Sometimes we can get complacent and think that this is all God has for us. Maybe I won’t have any peace. Maybe I won’t have a decent life but I came to encourage someone to wait for his or her second touch. Verse 25 tells us that when Jesus touched the man again he was restored. Wait this means that the man had not been blind all his life and that Jesus was just giving him something that he had once possessed and for someone the second touch is coming to give you back your rightful place as a child of the King and His creation. Even the earth will get a second touch because even though Jesus’ fist trip did not completely deliver us from this world the second touch is coming and we will be caught up to meet Him. But while you are here there is a second touch coming and it is meant to restore some stuff to you. Your peace will be restored your relationships will be restored everything that God has intended for your life is going to be restored.

   Finally after the Unexpected Move and the Unexpected Approach. After the Unexpected Result and the Unexpected Touch. God will give us some Unexpected Instructions. Jesus told the man to go straight home and not to go back through the town. This is how we know he traveled to the town everyday to beg. He tells him not to tell anyone in the town about what happened. Wouldn’t we expect to be a witness to those who knew us before? Wouldn’t we expect to at least tell the one who brought us to Christ that He delivered and healed us? Why would God have us avoid that place? Some might say that it was because Bethsaida was cursed. Some might say that his past was not ready for his present. Some would say that Jesus didn’t want him going back to a place of dependency. To be honest I don’t know why but I do know this, when God gives you instructions then we better follow them. Too many of us are falling short because God told us to do one thing but we thought it would be best to do something else. When God gives us instructions no matter how unexpected or unorthodox it is then it is up to us to follow those instructions.

   God often deals with us in ways that are unexpected by men. Isaiah 55:8 reminds us that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. In fact there are several witnesses throughout the Bible which remind us of this. 

Joseph’s brothers didn’t expect when there was a famine in the land that the same brother who they attempted to eliminate would be the one who saved them.

Moses’ family didn’t expect that the brother they hid away and came back with a stuttering problem would be the one to lead them out of slavery.

David’s family didn’t expect that of the all of his brother’s he would be chosen to be the next king.

No one expected a 33-year-old carpenter from Nazareth would one day be the Savior of Men.
They didn’t expect it when they arrested Him in the Garden
They didn’t expect it when they whipped Him 39 times
They didn’t expect it when they hung Him on the cross with a crown of thorns
They didn’t expect it when they pierced Him in His side
They didn’t expect it when He hung is head and died
They DID expect Him to stay in the grave Friday night
They DID expect Him to stay there Saturday morning
They Did expect Him to stay there Saturday night
But they DIDN’T expect EARLY Sunday morning he would get up with all power in his hands and a sinner like me could have his sins forgiven.

When it comes to dealing with JESUS I have come to expect the unexpected!!!

Father God, I’m prayin’ to you for somebody, who knows you Lord but just hasn’t, hasn’t been seein’ you in the right view lately, Hear me out…

Father, I’m prayin’ for a friend he and I are pretty close, and out of all my friends for this one I’m concerned the most. He say he readin’ daily but he ain’t really learnin’. He been in church but say that he ain’t moved by any sermon. His face weak, he ain’t prayed in a week, he wake up and just weep with his face in the sink Lord, you gotta help my man, I’m prayin’ for him daily, he ain’t sinned but it just seem as if he goin’ crazy. He say he feelin’ trapped, can’t even hit up the mall coz every lady’s half-dressed temptin’ him to lust and fall. He keep the TV off, videos just make him feel that he ain’t really nothin’ without money, girls and shiny wheels. The other day he told me that he felt less a man coz he ain’t have a five-year plan or a piece of land and man it’s crazy coz his family think so much of him, plus he got a godly wife who always show her love for him but he’s strugglin’, even though he talk to me, I tell him what to do but he don’t listen when he oughta’ be. I’m scared for him coz there’s people that look up to him, he got some younger siblings who been changed by what he’s done for them but is it done for him, Lord don’t let it be, if he don’t wanna talk to you then Father hear from me, is it done for him, Lord don’t let it be, if he don’t wanna talk to you then Father hear from me…

Yeah, I’m prayin’ for you, yeah, I’m prayin’ for you
Yeah, I’m prayin’ for you, yeah, yeah, I’m prayin’ for you…

God, his condition is worsen since we were last conversing,  I’m with him now and he ain’t doin’ well, of this I’m certain. He say he tryna’ trust you, doesn’t wanna disgust you but he was in the mist of sinners and did not discuss you and just today his anxiety’s got the best of him, he knows Christ but for hours refused to rest in Him, he’s not the best of men but Lord I know he really loves you and I can’t understand why lately he’s not thinkin’ of you. People trust this dude, you could crush this dude, Father he needs more of you I pray you touch this dude, what can I say to him? I’m determined to pray for him Father empty and break him I pray you’ll just have your way with him, coz there’s a change in him and the effects are strong, I pray you open up his heart before the next song and when he gets home, I pray he’ll open up the sixty-six book love letter you wrote and soak it up coz he ain’t hearin’ You and he ain’t feelin’ me and God I know it’s killin’ You because it’s killin’ me and matter of fact there’s somethin’ else he’s concealin’ see, the person that I’ve been prayin’ about is really me…

Yeah, I’m prayin’ for you, yeah, I’m prayin’ for you
Yeah, I’m prayin’ for you, yeah, yeah, I’m prayin’ for you…